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How to Run Away with Chauffeurs
"How to Run Away with Chauffeurs" is the 7th episode of Devious Butlers. Summary All the butlers are a little busy at the moment: Josh is drinking his troubles away, Joe is investigating the matter of the tapes discovered in Liz's safe, Ben is dealing with the fact that his crazed wife has returned and wants him to go back home with her, and Rena... well, Rena's just a little tied up. With the custodian force of Fanon Drive off dealing with their various predicaments, Joanna is left by herself with a particularly big mess that she and she alone must clean up, though at a deep personal cost. Plot 'Teaser' Focus on the face of Matthew Winters, or rather, his corpse's face. Still propped up in a chair in his kitchen, the blood continues to flow from his recently cut-open throat as the camera pans around the back of his head. In a flash far into the past, a young Matthew sits in one of the classes in the Catholic school he had been enrolled in. Instead of paying attention to his teacher's lesson though, his eyes wander onto that of an attractive classmate a couple desks away from him. He looks in awe at the student, but quickly he realizes there to be something off... the classmate is a boy. Cut to Matthew later attending a church confessional, confiding to the listening priest about his desires for said boy, and how he doesn't know what to do about them. "This is just the Devil trying to tempt you," the priest tells him. "You must overcome these demons; repress these unholy desires and everything should be fine." And that's exactly what Matthew had spent his life trying to do, as he is next seen in that very same church, but this time at the altar where his fiancée, Joanna Klaveno, joins him. Together they are bound together forever by God, till death do them part. Circling back around, the camera focuses back on Matthew's corpse, in the present day, where one can tell the life has drained from his eyes. Meanwhile, however, Joanna stands before him, finishing another glass of wine as she fixates on the heinous act she just committed. "Yunno?" she exclaims, to the corpse, "Things were going fine until you just had to go and make them difficult." Seeing her glass is empty, she skips to just chugging the bottle, commenting aloud, "This is gonna be such a bitch to clean up, and I can't even go to my butler for help now, can I?" Of course though, there's no response; the only sound to be heard is the dripping of Mr. Winters' blood onto the kitchen tile. Joanna looks at the time on the wall clock, trying to figure out how long she has to get rid of the body and clean up the mess; she assumes that Joe will most likely keep Josh out all night, so that gets him out of the way for now. "If I act now I can get you hidden away in time for Josh to get back, but there's the whole matter of when people start to notice you're missing. Of course your work will call when you don't show up in the morning; sure I can act oblivious but that will only work for so long..." Joanna continues thinking, but ultimately decides that she's going to have to take things one step at a time, and that the first thing she needs to do is get rid of the body. She goes to the kitchen drawer where she pulls out a meat cleaver - the same one that Josh had threatened Matthew with earlier - and begins to play with it some. "It's funny," she says to her departed husband, "when you took my butler to straight camp I was left here to do all the cleaning myself for a bit. Oh it was dreadful, but it reminded me how to do things for myself again." With that, she takes the cleaver and proceeds to hack into her husband's leg, causing more blood to spit out. "So thanks for that," she exclaims, proceeding to hack away more, "and of course I now know how to work the Febreeze; that should come in handy when this is all over!" And then she continues. Hack... Hack... Hack... DEVIOUS BUTLERS 'Act I' "Benjamin?!" Justine exclaims, still standing between her boyfriend and Jennifer, "What is this meaning? That she is wife of your?!" "It means I got the ring, blondie," Jennifer smiles, holding up her left hand to show off the cheap-looking golden band that adorns her ring finger, "now beat it, would ya' kindly?" "Jennifer!" Ben exclaims angrily, but his wife simply turns to him, turning from all-smiles to all-seriousness, and barks, "What?!" at her "beloved" spouse. Startled, he almost falls backwards on one of the mid-sized boulders that adorn the Del Barrio driveway, merely tripping and saving himself, all the while Justine is watching and begins to tear up as the complicated situation she's gotten herself into starts to hit her like a ton of bricks. "Benjamin?" she whispers softly, wiping away her tears, but Ben remains silent, almost afraid, as Jennifer gets all up in the French maid's face and reminds her, "I said, beat it. You're after a married fella' here, missy. You got that? He's spoken for. So run back to Barbie-land or wherever the hell it is you're from and stay the hell away from my husband!" Crying more and more profusely, Justine looks to her boyfriend one last time in the hopes that he'll step in and defend her, but he remains half-cowered in the shadow of the woman he left and so, finally, the beautiful blonde finds herself dashing back across the road, opening up the door to the Davis house and slamming it behind her in a fit of tears. "Justine!" Ben finally lets out, miles too late, but Jennifer suddenly grabs his arm in an airtight manoeuvre as she assures, "You can forget about her now, dearie. You've got me." "How did you even find me?!" Ben is still in need of clarification, and Jennifer says that he shouldn't have used his old online moniker of "Villain_fan". "I remember when it was your old email password," she chuckles. "You knew my email password?!" "Of course I did!" Jennifer laughs, "How else was I supposed to know what you were up to? You became so distant after… it happened." Ben appears deeply sad now; a proper deep sadness that we've never quite seen befall his face prior to now. "Yeah, well, that's why I left," he explains, "you were becoming too much." "Here I thought you left because you were a pathetic weak little urchin who's too afraid of his own feelings to confront them head-on, but, hey, who's keepin' score? The point is, I'm here now, and I can build you back up." "Build me--?" he is cut off when suddenly Jennifer forces her lips up against his, and he is forced to leap back several feet just to get her off of him, to the point that he actually does end up tripping over one of those boulders. It is then that Ali exits the house and asks what's going on. "Ben?" she questions, seeing him on the ground and deciding to help him to his feet, "What's happening? Who's this?" "I'm Jennifer," Jennifer exclaims, outstretching her hand, "Otherwise known as Mrs. Benjamin Gold." A little intimidated by this Scottish woman's brash energy, Ali shakes her hand nervously, and utters, "Oh… I didn't even know Ben had a wife. Um, you can, uh… stay here… I guess?" "Great!" Jennifer screeches, "Ben, you didn't say what great sports your bosses were! Oh, we're gonna have so much fun!" It is then that she takes a suitcase from out of the trunk of her car before grabbing her husband by the arm and physically dragging him, and her suitcase, into the Del Barrio mansion. "Which way to our room?" she's heard asking as Ali follows them inside, where she's met by Jorgio. "Who's that?" he asks, staring at Jennifer is she begins to make her way up one of many staircases. "That's Ben's wife, apparently," Ali tells him, "are you mad that I let her stay here?" "On the contrary, my dear," Jorgio replies, still staring, "I'm thrilled." A little disconcerted by her husband's behavior, Ali asks him if he'd still wish to make love tonight. "Nah," he tells her, "I've bigger fish to fry." An expression of intense relief makes itself known on the face of his wife. Back at the bar, Josh is still drinking his troubles away, having now emptied several pint glasses, while Joe remains chatting with Rena. "So these tapes," Joe tries to be casual, not allowing himself to drink as much as Rena, so as to make the prying easier, "did you watch them all?" "Some," Rena nods, "and I gotta tell ya', they kinda made me afraid of Liz. The things she was doing… not even I could endure that." "Huh?" "Nothing," Rena dismisses, "but yeah, she sure hasn't got a chance of being America's 'sweetheart'… more like America's dark heart." "You mean, you think Liz could be dangerous?" Joe inquires, and Rena shrugs and tells him, "Sure," before sipping his beer some more. "America's dark heart," Josh suddenly echoes, his speech slurred, "Amurca already has a dark heart, it's called religion! It teaches people bad things and then grows up and just craps all over everyone else with its rudeness and its… its…" he begins to burst into tears again, at which point Joe simply slides over his own beer bottle for Josh to continue drinking to shut him up. "Hey Rena," Joe then begins, and the Portuguese butler wonders what his friend is about to say. It is then that Joe comes out with, "Could I… see these tapes?" Rena raises an eyebrow, confused at his friend's request, but is drunk enough to not really care or question it, and so he just says, "I don't see why not." He then stands up, beckoning Joe to come with him, and Joe, realizing that Josh shouldn't really be alone, decides to drag the British butler up out of his seat and allow him to tag along. "Geroff!" Josh exclaims, "Do you know what I do to the people that hurt me? I slice 'em up!" He then gestures as though the meat-cleaver he earlier waged against Matthew is still in his hand, slicing from left to right with his imaginary weapon. "Right," Joe nods, "well, you just keep that handy. In case there are any muggers on the way to the Davis house." Josh nods firmly in response, then hauling his drunken ass out of the bar in pursuit of his two butler buddies. "So, where is Liz tonight?" Joe asks as the trio is next seen approaching the front door of the Davis house, and Rena explains that she's out with her actor friends. He proceeds to unlock the door and, after Josh has recovered from tripping over the doorstep, still toting a bottle from the bar, the three of them discover Justine in the kitchen, sipping from Rena's previously hidden bottle of wine and crying to herself about the woes of her life. "The hell's wrong with you?" Rena asks, and Justine just whines, "B-B-Ben h-has a w-w-w-w-w-w-wwiiiiiiiiiiiiiiife!!!" "Yeah, I got none of that," Rena admits, then boldly asking, "Hey, can I use your VCR again?" Justine makes a high-pitched moaning noise in response, accompanied by lots of tears as she sparks up a cigarette to help deal with the stress, and Rena just says, "Thanks," before proceeding up the stairs with his friends. Joe has to steady Josh to ensure that he doesn't trip up these as well. "When did we get here?" the drunken butler finds himself wondering. They then make their way to Justine's bedroom, sitting on the bed and Rena takes out the tapes and prepares to place a fresh one into the VCR. "Now be warned," Rena tells the others; only Joe is listening, while Josh is currently leaning against his shoulder, drooling after having dozed off. "Warned of what?" Joe wonders, ignoring Josh, and Rena says, "Some of these are kinda… graphic." "Well I'm sure I can handle it," Joe promises, and Rena shrugs and tells him, "Your funeral," before placing the tapes into the VCR. "Please," Joe wonders, "how bad could it be?" The tape is next seen being removed from the VCR, and Rena is covering his eyes while Joe's are wide and shocked and Josh… well, he barely even registers what happened, so he seems pretty fine. "So that was… yeah," Rena says. "I didn't expect that ending," Joe replies, a tad traumatized, and Rena tells him, "I guess none of us know just how much a sphincter can really take before it just… gives out." "And to think, Jose would've had to clean that up himself," Joe points out, feeling sorry for the dead butler. Meanwhile, Josh sits there in a daze and admits, "I thought it was hot." The other two turn to him and he shrugs and says, "I always kinda wondered how Jose woulda looked naked. Now I know." "Wow, that whole alcohol as escapism thing is really working for you now, huh?" Joe points out, and Josh nods as he admits that he's reached the point that he currently can't recall the new butler's name. "Now if you'll both excuse me," Josh says in an attempt to sound dignified, "I'm going to go find a bush that looks like it could do with a good puking on." And with that, he leaves the room, and presumably the premises too. "Well I'm beat," Rena says, "I'm gonna head to bed. Be a peach and put the tapes back in the safe when you're done? And if you could also do some light dusting on your way out, that'd be great, I kinda don't plan on doing any work tomorrow." He then leaves Justine's room for his own while Joe takes the tape from the VCR loading dock and places it atop the rest of the stack, then picking them all up and carrying them downstairs. Justine remains in the kitchen, now having added a pint of ice cream to her crying binge fest, and as she puts out the last of the many cigarettes she's smoked she finally decides that it's time to give up and go to bed, just at the point that Joe comes down the stairs with the half-dozen tapes. Luckily, the French maid yawns at this particular point, meaning she doesn't spot Joe and he has just enough time to escape with all the evidence he thinks he needs to prove that Jose was blackmailing Liz. Arriving back at the Winters' mansion, Josh re-enters his place of work, half-expecting to be greeted by Matthew, but is pleasantly surprised to see he is nowhere to be found. "Joanna, I'm home," he calls out, grabbing his forehead as he deals with a massive hangover. "In here," she calls, lounging on a couch, flipping through a magazine with a glass of wine. "You want one?" she asks, holding up her glass, but the mere site of alcohol at this point makes Josh want to vomit. "No thanks," he tells her, then wondering if Matthew ever came back. "No," she lies, "haven't seen him since your encounter." This pleases the butler, who comments in turn, "One can only hope his drunk ass drove off into a river and drowned." Jo chuckles, raising her glass in agreement. However, the employer/employee conversation is soon interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell, and so they get up, confused, to address who it may be. To their surprise though, upon opening the door, they find two officers standing before them. "May we help you?" Josh wonders, to which one asks if Mr. Winters is around. "My husband?" Jo questions, then exclaiming, "he never came home last night." Faking worriment, she asks if something has happened to him. "Not that one know of," one of the officers answers, the other adding, "It's just his work had mentioned he was missing, and we had gotten a call in yesterday from one of your neighbors about some disturbance going out outside." "We thought it looked a little suspicious," the first officer finishes. Joanna confirms that there was some drama going on the day prior, but that all of that has been put to rest now; however the second officer has been taking notice of Josh. "I recognize you," he says, then turning to his partner, "He came to the station yesterday a blubbering mess, claiming that Mr. Winters had raped him." "Well apparently he and Mr. Winters got into a fight with what involved a meat cleaver," the first officer informs. The two then turn to Josh, who doesn't quite know what to say. Seeing this, Joanna is quick to defend her butler, asking, "Is there something you two are trying to get at? Unless you have a warrant--" but the officer cuts Mrs. Winters off, stating that no warrant is necessary. "We're just having a peaceful discussion about your butler possibly having something to do with your husband's sudden disappearance." Josh's jaw drops, as these accusations put him ill-at-ease. "Okay, I've had enough," Joanna exclaims, "I want you two to get out." She motions for the officers to exit her property at once, and they nod, agreeing to do as she wishes. "We'll let you know if we find anything on your husband," one of them exclaims. "And we hope you do the same," says the other. With that, they go. Joanna closes the door and turns to Josh, who is starting to panic. "They think I did something to Matthew?! I--" "Calm down," she says, "I'm sure nothing is wrong. He's probably passed out drunk in some hotel or something; it'll be okay." Josh goes to speak, but Jo cuts him off, going into the kitchen and grabbing the number for Bradley Sonya. "I found a lawyer, get in touch with him about the case you're filing against Matthew." "Jo, I swear I didn't do anyth--" "I know," she says, "that's why we are not going to worry about it right now, okay?" Josh nods, but unable to not think about it, he admits that he could really use that drink Joanna offered him. She nods, pointing that he has unlimited access to what she has stored in the kitchen, and so he goes for the cabinet. As Mrs. Winters watches her butler sit down with a glass, she decides to go deal with some business of her own. Joanna is next seen elsewhere in the Winters' mansion, walking down some creaky stairs and into the basement. There, a large freezer is displayed. Looking back up at the stairs, making sure no one is watching her, Joanna opens the freezer up revealing the partitioned corpse of her murdered husband having been mixed in with some ice. She lets out a sigh, knowing that there's only one thing she can do... 'Act II' "Well that was certainly… something," comments Brad Sonya in his Wikerly Hills law office, having just viewed the BDSM recordings of Liz and Jose as shown to him by Joe, and Joe asks him, "It's enough, right? To reopen Tyson's case? I mean, we know now that Elizabeth Davis can be violent, and the fact that these tapes exist prove that Jose was blackmailing her!" "Do they?" Brad asks, and Joe appears confused, asking what else they prove. "Well… not much, other than the fact that Liz and Jose were involved in some sort of sexual dealings, which is useful, don't get me wrong, but this isn't exactly hard-hitting. I mean, the tapes were under Liz's possession; for all we know, that's the way it's always been. There's no implication that Jose ever had his hands on these, nor that he used them as some sort of threat to extort money out of his… 'Mistress'." "But Liz didn't know she was being filmed, Jose did!" Joe assures, "You can tell from how often he winks at the hidden camera." "Which… is hardly conclusive. I'm sorry, Joe. I really wish I could be of more help, but you're going to have to go back and learn the full story." "How?" Joe wonders, saddened, and Brad shrugs and says that he doesn't know; "This is your crazy plan, not mine. But if I tried showcasing this illegally-obtained evidence in a court of law, I could very well be disbarred." "Then I will go back," Joe promises, "and I'll learn the truth of everything that was going on. Just you watch." Joe then grabs the tapes and prepares to leave but, before he does, Brad wonders, "Isn't there a butler job you're supposed to be doing?" At this, Joe just smirks and says, "Please." Meanwhile, over in the mansion where Joe is meant to be vacuuming or something, Jennifer can be seen waking up in Ben's bed, and Ben enters with a cup of coffee in tow. "Is that for me? And after you were already such a gentleman letting me have the bed - though I would have preferred you in here with me," Jennifer asks, touched, and Ben says, "Well I didn't wanna make you one, but then Mr. Del Barrio came into the kitchen and told me it would be rude of me to not, and then he stared at me creepily as I made it…" "How sweet!" is all Jennifer exclaims, taking the coffee and sipping it, though she mentions, "You know I prefer tea and honey though." "Then go back to Scotland and have that?" Ben suggests, at which Jennifer frowns. "There's no need to be rude, dearie," she tells him, then asking, "How comes ya' didn't sleep with me in the bed last night." "Because we're not a married couple," Ben makes clear, "despite what you might believe, I left you, and with good reason." Jennifer just shakes her head, ignoring what he's conveying, before exclaiming, "That reminds me!" She places the coffee cup on the bedside table and takes something from out of her pants pocket - a golden wedding band, matching her own. "You left this behind!" she passes it to him, "I'm so happy to have the chance to return it to you." She keeps her arm outstretched, waiting for him to take it. "Well hurry up, Ben, me arm's about to drop off!" she cackles, but still Ben remains silent, unmoving. "Ben," Jennifer mutters calmly, and then, "Take it." Nothing in response, and then a flash of anger overcomes the Scotswoman as she screeches, "I said, TAKE IT!" With that, she throws the ring at Ben, forcing him to have to catch it to avoid being hit in the eye, and Jennifer returns to laughing, pointing out, "You never could resist me when I screamed at you. Such a little weakling! I tease, of course." "It's what drove me away," Ben states, "mostly." "Hm?" Jennifer responds, then picking up her coffee and stating that it's delicious. "Well, I best be off," Ben tells her. "Where are you going?" she wonders, a wide smile on her face, but Ben tells her that it's none of her business. "Rude," she replies, "I was hoping we could spend the day together." "And I was hoping you could pack up your crap and leave," Ben states in an attempt at power, at which his wife finally stands up and stares him straight in the eyes, telling him, "Alright, Ben. Make me." He stares her back in response, and then just says, "Like I said, I best be off." "Alright, dearie!" Jennifer exclaims, "But remember to come back this time!" As he leave the room, Jennifer sips the coffee again and mutters, "Little bitch." There is a knock on the door at the Davis house and Justine finds herself forced to descend the stairs in order to answer it. "Rena?!" she exclaims, "Pig?! Where you are?" Then, "Ugh!" as she realizes that she has to answer the door herself and a look of intense anger when she finally does this and realizes Ben is on the other side. She tries slamming it in his face but he puts out his arm to keep it open, then realizing that it would have been more practical to use his boot because a sudden jet of pain is sent down said arm and he ends up screaming in agony as he cradles it. "Are you okay?!" Justine frets, realizing that she's hurt him, and he assures her that he's fine, really. "I'm sorry, Benjamin," Justine sighs, appearing sad, and he says, "Not as sorry as I am. If we could find a place to sit? I'd love to explain everything to you." Justine nods and guides him over to the porch swing outside the Davis house; the two of them take a seat, with Ben shaking off the last of his arm pain, and Justine breaks the tension and murmuring, "So… you is married?" "Yeah…" Ben replies, "I did mention the toxic relationship I was in, right?" "Well," Justine tells him, "that woman certainly seem toxic, yeah." Ben smiles, and then the beautiful blonde demands to know just what is going on, and the butler says, "Right… so, Jennifer - that's my wife's name, Jennifer - she was my high school sweetheart… only she wasn't so sweet then either. She was mean and controlling, but the only girl I could get back then so… Anyway, I loved her; or at least, I told myself that I loved her." "And that is why you propose?" Justine questions, but Ben tells her, "No. I proposed because I had to." "Had to?" "Yeah," Ben nods, "she sort of… fell pregnant." Justine's eyes widen, "You mean you have child out in world somewhere too? Are they going to show up soon and shove me from you wells as?!" "I'm not finished," Ben tells her, very melancholy. "So," he continues, "Jennifer got pregnant, and we got married, and then…" he begins to well up, "and then…" Justine starts to realize where the story is going, and places her hand on her boyfriend's. "The baby never comed?" she asks, but Ben assures, "No, the baby came. A little girl…" "I don't understand," Justine tells him, wanting to be supportive, and Ben explains, "There were… complications, during the birth. She was born with this… this condition that… that…" he can't go on; tears have overcome him, blocking his speech. "Benjamin," Justine says, "you don't have to." "No," he says suddenly, "you need to understand. The baby, she… she was beautiful. She really was. It was like… you can be with someone for the longest time and you can never really be sure if you love them because… well, how can you define love? In that moment I knew. This little… life, that I'd created… lying in my arms… smiling up at me. So beautiful." More tears, and he finds himself grasping Justine's hand so that he may go on, "Anyway, that condition of hers, it… it st—" deep breath, grasping her hand tighter, "It stopped her heart. I was the first person to hold her and the last too. As I stared down at that beautiful little girl, she… she… she slipped away." Justine grasps Ben's hand in return, tearing up herself as she lives through her boyfriend's painful recollection. "I am so sorry," she tells him. "Yeah," he nods, using his spare hand to wipe his face, "after that… after losing the baby, Jennifer, she… she lost her mind as well. I was grieving, hard, but, with her around it was like I wasn't allowed. She often accuses me of being afraid of my feelings, but she was so repressive, so clingy, and she never let me feel anything. Except hate. Regret. Anger. And that's why I left. She became… a nightmare." Ben's tears accompany his anger now, as he explains that he couldn't have gotten a divorce because he needed to get away from her as fast as possible, for she was destroying his soul. "She always made me feel weak," Ben reveals, "and now that she's back, I—" "You… are not weak," Justine assures, "you been through all that, and you still living life. You are… amazing." Ben looks at his girlfriend and tells her, "Thank you. Of course, it's been worse lately. Recently it was, um, the anniversary of… of when it happened; I usually disappear off the face of the Earth on that day, to be alone with my thoughts… and while I was gone, my bosses threw a party, and my friend Jose died. The culmination of all that; all the loss, I… I think it's why I latched onto you so hard. The moment I saw you, I fell in love… and it's taken me a lifetime to learn that when you love something, you can't just let it slip away; you have to fight because… because…" more tears, "you don't know how long you have left." Justine nods, more tears dripping down her own cheeks, as she comes to understand Ben's previously obsessive behavior in trying to win her over. "Well," she announces, "it is good you tell me all this, Benjamin, because now I can be of helpful." "You can?" "Yes," she exclaims, "let's get that crazy chienne out of your life for good. Because no one can treat that way… to the man that I love." Ben is finally able to smile through his tears. Justine then leans in and kisses her boyfriend, gently, on the lips. Meanwhile, Jennifer is crouched behind the nearby porch railing, watching as this entire interaction takes place, having followed her husband, and she appears far from happy. With Joe having left, we are taken back to the lawyer office of Bradley Sonya where, currently, Josh is meeting with him, explaining his reasons for seeking him out. He goes into detail about how Matthew raped him and how the police dismissed his claims; now he wishes to take matters into his own hands and press charges himself. "Well, the police are pretty lousy in this town," Brad quickly admits, stating that they choose to ignore the bigger problems at hand and lay around collecting a paycheck, maybe giving out a speeding ticket here and there. Josh is starting to wonder if what the lawyer is saying has a point, but soon sees that it does not. "Well, Mr. Gibbons," Brad moves on, "I'll take your case. Obviously what happened to you is terrible and you certainly deserve justice. So why don't we get started?" Josh decides to start off with the part where he's supposed to prove he was raped, and so Brad thinks back to the information the butler has given him so far. "Well you said he was the biggest your ass has ever taken, is that correct?" Brad asks, to which Josh nods, rather awkwardly. "Okay, so let's get some measurements. Let's show the court that it's... a perfect fit. Your alibi surely checks out; there was probably street cameras to confirm what time you entered and exited the mansion." "Um," Josh wonders, "is this really... allowed?" Brad shrugs, "It's not the most traditional method, but sure. You'd be surprised how the law works. Meanwhile, any bruises you have that aren't surrounding your mangina can be noted when identifying if Mr. Winters is right or left-handed. You said there was some struggle?" Josh nods, confirming this, but then one final thought comes to his mind. "It may also be worth mentioning that Matthew is very religious. It's the reason he was so sexually repressed; he had fought so hard against his desires in the name of God that it finally became too much. And his wife can back that up." This just makes Josh's case all the more better though, as Brad points out men of the church have really developed a bad reputation when it comes to behaviors like that. "Sure, it's usually priests raping little boys, but this is close enough." Again, Brad's language is making Josh all the more uncomfortable, and finally the lawyer is starting to catch on. "Okay, maybe that was a poor choice of words," he points out, "I'm sorry. But understand I will win you this case. We're not going to let that sick bastard get away with this, okay?" Josh sees what Brad is saying is genuine, and so he decides to forgive his rather crass behavior. "Now about Mrs. Winters, you said she's alright?" the lawyer wonders, to which Josh's face brightens up. "Yes, in this whole mess between Matthew and I, she is the one twinkle of light." Meanwhile, back at the Winters' mansion, Joanna is seen hauling a black tarp through her home and into Josh's bedroom. Out of breath, she collapses onto the floor where the tarp opens and out rolls Matthew's head, eyes staring up at her. "The hell are you looking at?" she asks in disgust, proceeding to dig around Josh's room for the small bottles of wine she gave him. Finding one, she opens it up and proceeds to guzzle. Regaining her strength from it, she fully opens up the tarp to reveal the whole of what remains of Matthew Winters. His hands are detached, as well as his head and lower parts of his legs. It appears Joanna has given up on cutting him apart fully, and as she looks down at her deceased husband, she lets out a sigh. "I'm sorry, Josh," she mutters, then getting to work, plotting the remains of Matthew's body all throughout the butler's bedroom. 'Act III' Joe's hand knocks on the door of the Davis house, across the street from where he's meant to be working, and Justine answers the door. "You again," she acknowledges, "do you ever not have work any do to yourself?" Joe shrugs, not really understanding what it is she just said, and then asks if he could perhaps see Liz. "Mrs. Liz!" Justine calls out, "A visitor! Oh, and I take break now!" With that, the French maid disappears upstairs, reaching for her cell phone and beginning to speed-dial Ben, while Liz enters the main body of her house, feeling annoyed that she has to cease Tweeting, and asks, "Dammit, what the hell is it?" "Um, hi," Joe says awkwardly, using his one free hand to shut the door behind him while the other remains clinging to a bag; he takes a few steps forward, and Liz asks, "Just what the hell are you supposed to be?" "My name is Joe," he tells her, "I work for the Del Barrios across the street." "'Work' is loose term!" Justine calls from up the stairs, then returning to her own activities, and realizing that they're in earshot Joe suggests that he and the rich actress speak somewhere more private. "The lounge area?" he asks, pointing to a door, then proceeding into it without the owner's permission. He parks himself on her couch, to her annoyance, and after she follows him in she continues to ask what exactly he thinks he's doing. "Please," he says politely, "take a seat." "Are you inviting me to sit down in my own home?" she asks, at which he pointedly repeats, "Take a seat." Giving up, Liz does as told and sits opposite the butler, at which point he unzips his bag and pours the contents out onto the coffee table - the collection of half a dozen tapes previously housed in Liz's safe. She is shocked to be faced with them, both relieved and terrified, and stands up in outrage as she demands, "How did you get these?!" Joe just remains silent, keeping his eyes fixed on the chair she just rose out of and, realizing that he's not going to talk unless she remains calm and sitting, the beautiful redhead sighs her pretty head off and parks herself back down. Taking a deep breath, she asks softly, "How did you get these?" Instead of answering her question directly, Joe explains, "I've been wondering about Jose Sanchez for a while now. Ever since I took over his job. I mean, ever since I learned he was trying to blackmail people, I couldn't help but wonder 'who?' and 'with what?'. Now I know." "I see," Liz realizes, "you wanna use these things to extort money out of me, huh? Well, that's not going to happen." With that, Liz scoops the pile of tapes into her arms in a sudden move that soon leaves them on a heap on the floor at the helm of her dainty healed shoes. She then uses said shoes to stomp the tapes out of existence, viciously destroying them by hammering up and down, ramming her stilettos right into the film. Joe is shocked to witness this and, when all is done, she casually moves the debris to one side with her foot, then moving her hair from out of her face and recomposing herself before asking, "You were saying?" "Right," Joe murmurs, devastated at having just lost his evidence, "I was just wondering if… if…" "You know it's a shame to see them go," Liz acknowledges, staring longingly at the scrap she just created, then turning back to Joe and explaining, "that was truly some of my best work." "That's why you kept the tapes?" Joe realizes, "Because—" "I enjoyed rewatching some of my finest moments, yes," she confirms, "I mean, Jose was dead, it's not as though he was going to be able to use them as blackmail fodder anymore. And if you tell anyone…" "You'll kill me?" Joe questions, "Like you killed Jose?" Liz just looks confused at this, telling him, "No. I'll just sue your ass, like I plan to sue Rena's. I assume he's the one who showed you these?" Joe just nods awkwardly, and Liz whispers to herself, "Spanish son of a bitch! Maybe there are worse things I could do to his ass than sue it…" "Um, Mrs. Davis," Joe addresses, and again she turns to him, seeming agitated, and asks, "What do you want now?!" "Like I said," he reminds, "I've been curious about Jose and… it's important to me, to know what my predecessor was like." "Why?" Liz wonders, and Joe makes up, "I'm a very spiritual person. I… don't wanna continue sleeping where he slept if it means contaminating myself with his bad karma." "Well he was a son of a bitch," Liz makes clear, "played me right into starting up that little BDSM affair, said all the right things to entice me into it, and then placed a hidden camera in my bedroom. A devious little cu—" "But you were there on the night that he died?" Joe interrupts. Liz begins to think back… The sounds of people panicking can be heard from outside the Del Barrio mansion following Jose's dead body being pulled from the pool and getting identified, at the same time that Liz is seen sneaking through said mansion, scraping ashes from the bottom of her fancy shoe as she makes her way up one of the many spiral staircases. She is then seen casing the joint for Jose's bedroom and, when she finally finds it, she is happy to discover the S&M tapes under his mattress. "Bingo," she smiles, then picking up the tapes and trying to walk covertly back through the mansion with them in her arms. However, she takes a wrong turn on the way down the stairs, having already taken so long to accomplish this small task (to the point that the sounds of panic have already died down outside, with the guests have cleared off), and ends up near the basement, where a pair of voices can be heard echoing. "I don't know," comes one voice, "it's a little too pricy." "But so worth it," comes another, and then Liz is startled by the distinctive sound of a chain being slung against a wall. Instead of questioning it, she decides to back up, tapes in tow, and get the hell out of there. Over at the Del Barrio mansion, Ben is seen with his cell phone to his ear, talking to Justine as she remains in her bedroom across the street. "I come and meet you now, in person," Justine is saying, "so we can discuss for proper what to do." "Alright," Ben signs off, "I love you." Liking this, Justine assures, "I love tu too," and Ben smiles before hanging up. "Who was that?" Jennifer asks, startling him with her sudden appearance. "God dammit!" Ben exclaims, dropping his phone, "It's bad enough we already have one person in the house who can do that. What do you want?" Jennifer just stares blankly into his eyes, then saying, "I can tell you really do love her." Ben nods meekly, then bending down to pick up his phone, at which point Jennifer states, "And I can't be having that." She then wraps her hands around the back of his head and rams her knee into his face, causing him to fall to the floor unconscious. "Sorry, dearie," Jennifer states, a blank expression encompassing her face, "but you're coming with me." She then grabs Ben by the feet and begins dragging him through the mansion; apparently she's stronger than she looks. She drags him down the stairs, allowing his head to hit against every step on the way down, and she assures that that's punishment for running off and getting infatuated with some foreign blonde. As she passes a nearby hallway, Jorgio sees exactly what she's doing and appears more intrigued than worried, simply watching with a look of mild interest on his face as opposed to intervening in any sort of capacity. With his employer allowing this to happen, it appears Ben has little to no hope as he's dragged outside of the mansion, out into Fanon Drive where night has begun to fall. The Scotswoman looks around to ensure that nobody is looking at her, and then she lets Ben slink down so that she can grab her car keys, unlocking her poorly-parked vehicle remotely and then opening up the trunk. As she lifts Ben up by slotting her arms under his armpits, she begins talking, so as to ease the physical challenge. "You wouldn't think someone so weak would be so heavy," she laughs, "and not to mention someone packing so little below the kilt. But that's all mine. And no wee French whore can take it from me." As she loads him into the trunk and folds him up to make him fit properly, she comments further, "I suppose normally it's you who'd be chauffeuring people around, driving them from place to place. Now it's my turn, dearie. I'm gonna make you come away with me, all the way back to Scotland, where you'll be mine forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and—" "Back off, Desperate Haggiswife!" Justine screeches as she witnesses the scene, having come from across the street to meet with Ben, and then she tackles her love rival to the ground. "Nobody," she punches Jennifer in the face, straddling her, "kidnaps," another punch, "my," and another, "Benjamin!" The final blow leaves Jennifer with a bloody nose, which she is not too happy about. "Didn't anyone teach you not to piss off a Scottish lass?" she cackles as she uses all her strength to push herself forward, against Justine's weight, and headbutt the French maid right in the face. Justine is sent falling off of Jennifer, clutching her own nose, while Jennifer crawls over to one of the decorative boulders on the Del Barrios' driveway. She begins to nudge it from position, but then Justine jumps on her from behind, meaning Jennifer has to try and shake her off. When Justine pulls the Scotswoman's hair, she has had enough and finally pushes the French far enough away from her to return to her feet, then grabbing the blonde by her golden locks and forcing her to eat pavement by crouching down and repeatedly slamming her pretty face into the curb. "And nobody," she slams her face, "steals," and again, "my," and again, "husband!" Once again, she returns to the boulder, plucking it from the ground. When Justine, lying weak and limp on the ground, has enough bearings to turn herself around, Jennifer straddles her in opposition to the earlier position the two ladies were in. While Justine punched Ben's wife, said wife is armed with a boulder, and she lifts it above her head with the intention of bashing in the maid's head with it. "It's been fun, lassie, it really has," Jennifer acknowledges, "but I think it's time for you to go to sleep now. Say goodnight, bitch." Justine flinches as she prepares for the worst, but suddenly the boulder is plucked from right out of Jennifer's hands as Ben, now conscious and out of the car, confiscates it from her. He then uses it to hit his wife in the face, as payback for the injury she earlier inflicted unto him, and as she slumps to the ground he murmurs, "Goodnight, bitch." "Benjamin!" Justine coughs, and he proceeds to help his girlfriend to her feet, asking if she's okay. "No bones broken," she assures, "but still I think I need doctor attention." Ben nods, saying that they should call an ambulance, but Justine points out that they should call the police first, and gestures to the unconscious kidnapper lying at their feet. Ben too stares down at her, standing over the woman who spent all that time emasculating him, and as she groans from her slumber he finds himself gloating, "Who's the weak one now, dearie?" Justine, after kissing her boyfriend on the cheek, careful not to cover his face in her blood, then dials 911. Outside the Winters' mansion, there's yellow caution tape being put up as multiple police cars, ambulances and firetrucks are parked. Joanna stands talking to the two officers who had stopped by earlier, tears in her eyes as she appears to be explaining something. Meanwhile, Josh and Brad are driving down Fanon Drive, the former discussing Mrs. Winters, as the latter wanted to meet with her to talk some about the case. However, they're shocked upon the sight displayed when coming up to the driveway. Quickly, the butler and the lawyer hop out of the car to approach Joanna, still chatting with the officers, but she looks up at Josh and immediately her face turns to that of rage. "There he is! Arrest him!" she barks, pointing at the butler, "HE KILLED MY HUSBAND!" She starts to break down into tears as she watches the two officers head for Josh, ushering Brad out of the way as they grab a hold of him. "Joshua Gibbons," one exclaims, "you're under arrest for the murder of Matthew Winters." "Wait, what?!" he exclaims, in shock, turning to Brad who has the same facial expression as he. They look at Joanna, who sobs as she watches some paramedics exiting the Winters' mansion with some of Matthew's limbs, in plastic bags. "No, no, no, this isn't right," he tries, "I didn't kill anyone!" "LIAR!" Joanna barks, "I was on your side; I was going to fight for you... but not now." One of the paramedics exits the home containing a meat cleaver in a bag. "This appears to be the murder weapon," he exclaims, and one of the officers recognizes it to be exactly what Josh had chased Matthew around with the day before. "Let's go, son," he exclaims, forcing the butler into the back of the police car, despite his pleas of innocence. "Tell it to the judge," is all the officer replies though, so Josh turns to Brad, and the two silently understand that the lawyer will be taking on another new case. Joanna, meanwhile, heads back into her home to her kitchen for a drink. She doesn't even bother with a glass, but instead immediately goes for a bottle, which she begins chugging. Wiping the tears from her face, she then takes out her phone where she pulls up the selfie she had once taken with Josh and his recently deported boyfriend, Juan. (see "Custodian Horror Story") "I'm so sorry..." she exclaims, once more, breaking down into tears again, only this time genuinely for the injustice she has brought upon a man whose friend she was supposed to be. "You're making a mistake!" Josh screams as he's hauled into the police station against his will, at the same time that Jennifer is escorted outside by another officer. "But I don't understand," she tells him, "who bailed me out?" Once she's vacated the station, she's met by Jorgio Del Barrio, who opens up the back door of his Bentley for her to get in. "What's going on?" she wonders, at which he replies, "All shall become clear in time." Jennifer looks worried, but she also wants to get as far away from where she is as possible, and so she hops into the back seat, where the door is shut behind her, and Jorgio heads into the driver's seat, locking all the doors thereafter. Jennifer then tries to leave, not liking the fact that she can't, but Jorgio assures her, "Relax. It's just a safety precaution. Now buckle up." She does as told, and then Jorgio begins to drive away from the station, back in the direction of Fanon Drive. "I don't understand," Jennifer states, "you bailed me out?" "Well," Jorgio explains, "that would imply legality. In truth, I bribed the officers on your behalf." "But why?" Jennifer wonders, and he replies, "Because you're special." Jennifer laughs at this, saying that she's "far from", and that even Ben doesn't want to be married to her anymore. "Your husband is a fool," Jorgio assures. "Yeah, well, he ain't me husband anymore," she reveals, "he's had the divorce papers at the ready for years; I was made to sign them. I'm sure he's on his way to file them with his pretty blonde bitch as we speak." "That's a shame," Jorgio comments. "Indeed," Jennifer nods, "but, speaking of Ben, isn't he your chauffeur? Do you often drive your own Bentley?" "Only when conducting important business," Jorgio assures, "and you're certainly important." "I am?" "Well," Jorgio tells her, "you're married to my butler. I don't care what a piece of paper says, you two are joined eternally in the eyes of the divine. And a husband and wife should live together under the same roof." "So what? Are you offering me a job?" Jennifer wonders, but Jorgio tells her, "Not exactly." Joe, meanwhile, is inside the Del Barrio mansion, taking Liz's advice and heading downstairs to the lower levels. He wonders what she meant about his boss' shady basement activities, and he soon finds himself in the wine cellar, a little wary of the nearby security camera. Still though, he starts to snoop. Jorgio, meanwhile, pulls over in his own driveway, which is missing a decorative boulder. He then gets out and opens the back door for Jennifer, offering her his hand so as to help her out. Joe sifts through the bottles of wine, wondering if there could be some sort of clue hidden away, but the stress of it all starts to get to him a little. As such, he takes one particularly old bottle off of the shelf and opens it up, taking a large swig before putting it back and continuing his search. "Come on," Jorgio tells Jennifer, leading her through the house. "Where are we going?" she wonders, pointing out that Ben's bedroom is the other way. "Just follow me," Jorgio insists, beginning to head down. Alison has just finished feeding the girls in the basement, using her necklace to lock up after herself. When she turns around to head upstairs with the empty silver tray, she is startled to be met by her husband, who is standing beside Ben's wife. "What's going on?" Ali wonders, and Jennifer says, "I was just about to ask the same thing." "Alison, dear," Jorgio says, "unlock the door." Alison appears confused at this demand, but soon puts the tray down to use her necklace to carry out her husband's command. Jennifer appears a little worried now and tries to step back, only for Jorgio to grab her arm rather forcefully to stop her from leaving. She pants in fear, and he tells her, "Here's the thing. I thoroughly believe that you and your husband should be living together under the same roof; that part was indeed true. The catch is… you won't be sharing a room." He then gestures for Ali to open the door and streams of tears begin emanating from her eyes as she does so, revealing all the women who sit there in the dark, chained to the wall, looking weak and feeble. "What the hell is this place? Who are these people?!" Jennifer demands to know as she struggles against Jorgio's grip. "You know that movie Taken where Liam Neeson gets his daughter back?" he asks, then saying, "These are the girls whose fathers aren't so genre-savvy." Ali continues to cry while Jennifer screams, being forced into the room, and Jorgio gleefully welcomes her to her new home. From the wine cellar, Joe hears the sound of a woman screaming; as such, he rushes out of the wine cellar and begins down the basement halls. With Jennifer firmly shackled to the wall, the door is shut on her, and Jorgio grabs his wife's necklace and forcefully pulls her down so that he can lock it after himself. From the inside, Jennifer starts banging on the door, begging to be let out, but it's no use. "Come on, my dear," Jorgio tells his wife, "let's go to bed." He then links arms with her, ignoring her tears, and begins to drag her through the basement hallways… where he turns the corner and bumps into Joe, to his shock. Not knowing what the hell his butler is doing in such an out of bounds area, Jorgio immediately states, "You're fired," not even allowing Joe to get out an excuse before revoking his right to even step foot in this house. Joe appears shocked, unaware of what he's going to do now… Focus on the outside of the Del Barrio mansion as Joe is seen exiting, some suitcases in tow, as he heads to pack up his car. Ali and Jorgio watch from an upstairs window, the latter of whom stares down at his former butler in disgust; meanwhile, Ali looks depressed, coming to believe what she saw in Joe the moment they first met turned out to be nothing after all (see "Pilot"). Finally, Joe hops into his car and proceeds to cross over the Del Barrio property line and head down Fanon Drive... until turning in to the Winters' driveway. He looks up at the mansion his recently arrested friend had previously worked in, and he lets out a deep breath before heading to the front door. After a moment of hesitation, he finally rings the doorbell, and soon enough Joanna Winters, glass of wine in tow, answers the door. "I hear you're in need of a new butler?" Joe exclaims, at which point Joanna looks Joe down from head to toe, and then smirks. She opens the door wider, motioning that he come in, which he obliges to. Joanna is not afraid to take a glance at Joe's rear as he passes her, and her grin only furthers, satisfied with her newly acquired butler. Unanswered Questions *''Who murdered Jose Sanchez?'' *Why was Jorgio threatening Jose, and vice versa? *Why was Joe fired from the police force? *Why was Joe abandoned as a baby? *Who did Justine's heart belong to and how did he betray her? *Why do the Del Barrios keep chained-up women in their basement? *What is the full story behind Ben's marriage to Jennifer, and what became of their unborn child? *Why is Liz holding onto her and Jose's taped BDSM sessions? What's the story there? *What exactly did Matthew learn about Joanna ("Emilie") that Jose wanted to use as blackmail? *What did Joanna mean when she said that Jose had been "taken care of"? *'What was the conversation Liz heard on the night of the murder about? Who was speaking?' Category:Season 1 Episodes